During the epoch of reionization, neutral gas in the early Universe was ionized by hard ultraviolet radiation emitted by young stars in the first galaxies. To do so, ionizing ultraviolet photons must ...escape from the host galaxy. We present
observations of the gravitationally lensed post-reionization galaxy PSZ1-ARC G311.6602-18.4624 (nicknamed the "Sunburst Arc"), revealing bright, multiply imaged ionizing photon escape from a compact star-forming region through a narrow channel in an optically thick gas. The gravitational lensing magnification shows how ionizing photons escape this galaxy, contributing to the reionization of the Universe. The multiple sight lines to the source probe absorption by intergalactic neutral hydrogen on a scale of less than a few hundred parsecs.
We derive new self-consistent theoretical UV, optical, and IR diagnostics for the interstellar medium (ISM) pressure and electron density in the ionized nebulae of star-forming galaxies. Our UV ...diagnostics utilize the intercombination, forbidden, and resonance lines of silicon, carbon, aluminum, neon, and nitrogen. We also calibrate the optical and IR forbidden lines of oxygen, argon, nitrogen, and sulfur. We show that line ratios used as ISM pressure diagnostics depend on the gas-phase metallicity with a residual dependence on the ionization parameter of the gas. In addition, the traditional electron density diagnostic S ii λ6731/S ii λ6717 is strongly dependent on the gas-phase metallicity. We show how different emission-line ratios are produced in different ionization zones in our theoretical nebulae. The S ii and O ii ratios are produced in different zones and should not be used interchangeably to measure the electron density of the gas unless the electron temperature is known to be constant. We review the temperature and density distributions observed within H ii regions and discuss the implications of these distributions on measuring the electron density of the gas. Many H ii regions contain radial variations in density. We suggest that the ISM pressure is a more meaningful quantity to measure in H ii regions or galaxies. Specific combinations of line ratios can cover the full range of ISM pressures (4 < log(P/k) < 9). As H ii regions become resolved at increasingly high redshift through the next generation of telescopes, we anticipate that these diagnostics will be important for understanding the conditions around the young, hot stars from the early universe to the present day.
ABSTRACT Using Spitzer observations of classical Cepheids we have measured the true average distance modulus of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) to be mag (corresponding to kpc), which is 0.48 0.01 ...mag more distant than the LMC. This is in agreement with previous results from Cepheid observations, as well as with measurements from other indicators such as RR Lyrae stars and the tip of the red giant branch. Utilizing the properties of the mid-infrared Leavitt Law we measured precise distances to individual Cepheids in the SMC, and have confirmed that the galaxy is tilted and elongated such that its eastern side is up to 20 kpc closer than its western side. This is in agreement with the results from red clump stars and dynamical simulations of the Magellanic Clouds and Stream.
Abstract
We report the discovery of an accreting supermassive black hole at
z
= 8.679. This galaxy, denoted here as CEERS_1019, was previously discovered as a Ly
α
-break galaxy by Hubble with a Ly
α
...redshift from Keck. As part of the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey, we have observed this source with JWST/NIRSpec, MIRI, NIRCam, and NIRCam/WFSS and uncovered a plethora of emission lines. The H
β
line is best fit by a narrow plus a broad component, where the latter is measured at 2.5
σ
with an FWHM ∼1200 km s
−1
. We conclude this originates in the broadline region of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). This is supported by the presence of weak high-ionization lines (N V, N IV, and C III), as well as a spatial point-source component. The implied mass of the black hole (BH) is log (
M
BH
/
M
⊙
) = 6.95 ± 0.37, and we estimate that it is accreting at 1.2 ± 0.5 times the Eddington limit. The 1–8
μ
m photometric spectral energy distribution shows a continuum dominated by starlight and constrains the host galaxy to be massive (log M/M
⊙
∼9.5) and highly star-forming (star formation rate, or SFR ∼ 30 M
⊙
yr
−1
; log sSFR ∼ − 7.9 yr
−1
). The line ratios show that the gas is metal-poor (
Z
/
Z
⊙
∼ 0.1), dense (
n
e
∼ 10
3
cm
−3
), and highly ionized (log
U
∼ − 2.1). We use this present highest-redshift AGN discovery to place constraints on BH seeding models and find that a combination of either super-Eddington accretion from stellar seeds or Eddington accretion from very massive BH seeds is required to form this object.
We constrain the slope of the star formation rate (SFR; log Psi) to stellar mass (log M sub(*)) relation down to log(M sub(*)/M sub(middot in circle)) = 8.4 (log(M sub(*)/M sub(middot in circle)) = ...9.2) at z = 0.5 (z = 2.5) with a mass-complete sample of 39,106 star-forming galaxies selected from the 3D-HST photometric catalogs, using deep photometry in the CANDELS fields. For the first time, we find that the slope is dependent on stellar mass, such that it is steeper at low masses (log Psi is proportional to log M sub(*)) than at high masses (log Psi is proportional to (0.3-0.6) log M sub(*)). These steeper low-mass slopes are found for three different star formation indicators: the combination of the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR), calibrated from a stacking analysis of Spitzer/MIPS 24 mu m imaging; beta -corrected UV SFRs; and H alpha SFRs. The normalization of the sequence evolves differently in distinct mass regimes as well: for galaxies less massive than log(M sub(*)/M sub(middot in circle)) < 10 the specific SFR (Psi/M sub(*)) is observed to be roughly self-similar with Psi/M sub(*) is proportional to (1 + z) super(1.9), whereas more massive galaxies show a stronger evolution with Psi/M sub(*) is proportional to (1 + z) super(2.2-3.5) for log(M sub(*)/M sub(middot in circle)) = 10.2-11.2. The fact that we find a steep slope of the star formation sequence for the lower mass galaxies will help reconcile theoretical galaxy formation models with the observations.
We present a detailed analysis of multi-wavelength Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) imaging and Keck/OSIRIS near-infrared adaptive optics-assisted integral field spectroscopy for a ...highly magnified lensed galaxy at z = 1.70. This young starburst is representative of ultraviolet-selected star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at z ~ 2 and contains multiple individual star-forming regions. Due to the lensing magnification, we can resolve spatial scales down to 100 pc in the source plane of the galaxy. The velocity field shows disturbed kinematics suggestive of an ongoing interaction and there is a clear signature of a tidal tail. We constrain the age, reddening, star formation rate, and stellar mass of the star-forming clumps from spectral energy distribution (SED) modeling of the WFC3 photometry and measure their H alpha luminosity, metallicity, and outflow properties from the OSIRIS data. With strong star-formation-driven outflows in four clumps, RCSGA0327 is the first high-redshift SFG at stellar mass <10 super(10) M sub(middot in circle) with spatially resolved stellar winds. We compare the H alpha luminosities, sizes, and dispersions of the star-forming regions with other high-z clumps as well as local giant H II regions and find no evidence for increased clump star formation surface densities in interacting systems, unlike in the local universe. Spatially resolved SED modeling unveils an established stellar population at the location of the largest clump and a second mass concentration near the edge of the system that is not detected in H alpha emission. This suggests a picture of an equal-mass mixed major merger, which has not triggered a new burst of star formation or caused a tidal tail in the gas-poor component.
Abstract
We present measurements of the surface density of star formation, the star-forming clump luminosity function, and the clump size distribution function, for the lensed galaxy ...SGAS J111020.0+645950.8 at a redshift of
z
= 2.481. The physical size scales that we probe, radii
r
= 30–50 pc, are considerably smaller scales than have yet been studied at these redshifts. The star formation surface density we find within these small clumps is consistent with surface densities measured previously for other lensed galaxies at similar redshift. Twenty-two percent of the rest-frame ultraviolet light in this lensed galaxy arises from small clumps, with
pc. Within the range of overlap, the clump luminosity function measured for this lensed galaxy is remarkably similar to those of
galaxies. In this galaxy, star-forming regions smaller than 100 pc—physical scales not usually resolved at these redshifts by current telescopes—are important locations of star formation in the distant universe. If this galaxy is representative, this may contradict the theoretical picture in which the critical size scale for star formation in the distant universe is of the order of 1 kpc. Instead, our results suggest that current telescopes have not yet resolved the critical size scales of star-forming activity in galaxies over most of cosmic time.
Every star-forming galaxy has a halo of metal-enriched gas that extends out to at least 100 kiloparsecs, as revealed by the absorption lines that this gas imprints on the spectra of background ...quasars. However, quasars are sparse and typically probe only one narrow beam of emission through the intervening galaxy. Close quasar pairs and gravitationally lensed quasars have been used to circumvent this inherently one-dimensional technique, but these objects are rare and the structure of the circumgalactic medium remains poorly constrained. As a result, our understanding of the physical processes that drive the recycling of baryons across the lifetime of a galaxy is limited. Here we report integral-field (tomographic) spectroscopy of an extended background source-a bright, giant gravitational arc. We can thus coherently map the spatial and kinematic distribution of Mg ɪɪ absorption-a standard tracer of enriched gas-in an intervening galaxy system at redshift 0.98 (around 8 billion years ago). Our gravitational-arc tomography unveils a clumpy medium in which the absorption strength decreases with increasing distance from the galaxy system, in good agreement with results for quasars. Furthermore, we find strong evidence that the gas is not distributed isotropically. Interestingly, we detect little kinematic variation over a projected area of approximately 600 square kiloparsecs, with all line-of-sight velocities confined to within a few tens of kilometres per second of each other. These results suggest that the detected absorption originates from entrained recycled material, rather than in a galactic outflow.
We present optical and near-IR imaging and spectroscopy of SGAS J 105039.6+001730, a strongly lensed galaxy at z = 3.6252 magnified by >30x, and derive its physical properties. We measure a stellar ...mass of log(M sub(*)/M sub(middot in circle)) = 9.5 + or - 0.35, star formation rates from OII 2.2.3727 and H beta of 55 + or - 25 and 84 + or - 24 M sub(middot in circle) yr super(-1), respectively, an electron density of n sub(e) < or =, slant 10 super(3) cm super(-2), an electron temperature of T sub(e) < or =, slant 14,000 K, and a metallicity of 12 + log(O/H) = 8.3 + or - 0.1. The strong C III lambdalambda1907,1909 emission and abundance ratios of C, N, O, and Si are consistent with well-studied starbursts at z ~ 0 with similar metallicities. Strong P Cygni lines and He II lambda1640 emission indicate a significant population of Wolf-Rayet stars, but synthetic spectra of individual populations of young, hot stars do not reproduce the observed integrated P Cygni absorption features. The rest-frame UV spectral features are indicative of a young starburst with high ionization, implying either (1) an ionization parameter significantly higher than suggested by rest-frame optical nebular lines, or (2) differences in one or both of the initial mass function and the properties of ionizing spectra of massive stars. We argue that the observed features are likely the result of a superposition of star forming regions with different physical properties. These results demonstrate the complexity of star formation on scales smaller than individual galaxies, and highlight the importance of systematic effects that result from smearing together the signatures of individual star forming regions within galaxies.
We probe the spatial distribution of outflowing gas along four lines of sight separated by up to 6 kpc in a gravitationally lensed star-forming galaxy at z = 1.70. Using Mg II and Fe II emission and ...absorption as tracers, we find that the clumps of star formation are driving galactic outflows with velocities of − 170 to − 250 km/s. The velocities of Mg II emission are redshifted with respect to the systemic velocities of the galaxy, consistent with being backscattered. By contrast, the Fe II fluorescent emission lines are either slightly blueshifted or at the systemic velocity of the galaxy. Taken together, the velocity structure of the Mg II and Fe II emission is consistent with arising through scattering in galactic winds. Assuming a thin shell geometry for the outflowing gas, the estimated masses carried out by these outflows are large (approx 30-50 M/yr), with mass loading factors several times the star formation rate. Almost 20 per cent to 50 per cent of the blueshifted absorption probably escapes the gravitational potential of the galaxy. In this galaxy, the outflow is 'locally sourced', that is, the properties of the outflow in each line of sight are dominated by the properties of the nearest clump of star formation; the wind is not global to the galaxy. The mass outflow rates and the momentum flux carried out by outflows in individual star-forming knots of this object are comparable to that of starburst galaxies in the local Universe.
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